Singapore: Only Muis can certify

By
Tessa Wong

THE Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) has taken issue
with a claim by supermarket chain Fairprice that its new halal auditing
programme will give greater consumer assurance.

Speaking at the sidelines of a halal seminar on Friday, Muis
president Mohd Alami Musa stressed that the council is the sole
authority that can certify establishments and products as halal, or
suitable for Muslim consumption.

His statement comes after Singapore’s biggest supermarket chain,
FairPrice, announced it is helping its Muslim customers with a halal
auditing programme – done by another Muslim body.

The auditors are a consultancy called Pergas Halbiz, a subsidiary of
the Singapore Islamic Scholars and Religious Teachers Association
(Pergas).

Fairprice announced the plan on Wednesday at the launch of their
newest outlet in Joo Chiat Complex, which is also their first to
undergo a halal audit.

Mr Seah Kian Peng, FairPrice’s managing director of group business,
then said that the audit which will cover 40 outlets ‘will give our
Muslim customers a greater level of assurance that the halal food here
is in fact halal’.

But Muis said on Friday that they have not yet certified the Joo Chiat outlet.